


Welcome to Camp Skaia

by thesunmaid



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Campskaia, Developing Relationship, Half of it is unrequited anyway, Honestly it's everyone, M/M, Summer Camp AU, The rating will go up to M at a later time, There will be a few side pairings but they're not extremely important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-23
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-30 07:26:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1015794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesunmaid/pseuds/thesunmaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave Strider is being forced to go to Camp Skaia, a famous camp on the west coast where children travel the country to attend. Alongside his older brother Dirk, and his obnoxious assigned camp buddy John Egbert, Dave just hopes he’ll be able to make it out of these eight weeks alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wish I was back in Texas

**Author's Note:**

> People have been excitedly expecting this fic for a while, and I hope it's not too hyped up! I wouldn't want to disappoint any of you guys!
> 
> But I'm really excited about this fic! So I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! :O
> 
> \----
> 
> In which Dave Strider is your average pissy teen.
> 
> \----

“Dave, I said you’re goin’ an’ that’s final.”

You huff, arms crossed tightly over your chest. The image doesn’t reflect your age of 16 years quite too well, but dammit, what the hell, Bro?

The argument you just lost consisted of your summer plans, or lack thereof, and you wanted nothing more than to punch something in its face. Dirk just sat on the couch the whole time, watching, doing nothing. The prick.

Bro walks away from you, retreating back into his room and closing the door behind him, leaving you standing in the kitchen, arms still crossed and lips pursing. You can still feel Dirk’s eyes trained on you, silently waiting for your next move. You were pissed, but you weren’t stupid. Initiating a strife with Bro would definitely lead to your bloody loss, so instead you huff again as your arms fall from your chest to your sides, and you saunter over to the couch, sitting next to Dirk after he scoots to make room.

“It won’t be so bad,” he tries to console you as you slouch back against the soft cushions, “I have to be a counselor.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to do any of the dumb as fuck activities,” you protest. Really, who was the bigger victim in this case? At least your brother got community service hours for graduation. You, on the other hand, had to actually participate in groups with obnoxious people and play sports you’d rather not.

Let’s not even talk about how high the risk of your skin burning is.

Dirk just sighs and situates himself against the cushions, clicking through the channels of Saturday morning television, slurping mindlessly at his cereal.

You were actually surprised Dirk took something like this up to get his hours in. Dirk, the kid who rarely left his room other than to piss and go to school. Who made robots and other contraptions at three in the morning with no other company sans that fucking puppet.

You had so much planned for this summer, and by so much, you mean nothing really. Honestly, you just wanted to laze around your room in nothing but your boxers, drinking juice box after juice box and updating your site whenever you felt like it. Throw in some beat mixing and pizza and you were good for the next two and a half months.

But no. You backtalk your teacher, she takes it too personally, and the next thing you know you’re sitting in the office with your principal and a very aggravated older brother. She had it coming though. God, she never stops talking long enough for anyone to finish the goddamn sheets she gives out. Honestly, you were just voicing what the rest of the class was too nervous to say.

But Bro was pissed. Hearing the teacher’s side of the story first does not benefit you when it’s your turn. Not to mention the fact that you're already a little shit at home. You admit it, though, and Bro had never made a stink about it before.

But Dirk was already going away to this dumb camp, so why not send you too, right? It’s not like you were a bad kid or anything. You did pretty well in school and you and Bro got a long just like all the other siblings in the world. You didn’t have many friends though, not that you’d ever admit that out loud, so Bro probably thought it was a good idea for you to get out of the house for once.

You grumble, sliding farther down the cushions until your neck is awkwardly bent and your chin is touching your chest. Dirk pays no mind to you; just stares straight ahead at the flat screen, the light from the television flashing across his face.

Bro doesn’t come out of his room for the rest of the day, and by dinner time there’s still no sign of him. So you and Dirk do what you usually do; order a pizza.

“When do we leave?” you sigh, finally admitting defeat as you slouch back onto the couch.

Dirk swallows his last bite of pizza before responding to you. “Week after exams.” You groan again.

“Dude, that’s in like, three weeks.”

“Yep,” is his only reply.

“But isn’t it too late for registration? I mean, if the damn thing starts so soon. . .”

Dirk just shrugs.

 

Before you know it, your hour of departure is almost upon you.

You had spent the majority of the last three weeks wallowing in your room, and the situation hasn’t changed. Your bags are begrudgingly packed and waiting by the door as Dirk gets last minute items together. You’re sprawled out on your bed, eyes closed and limbs stretched out, listening to Dirk fumble around the room for missing socks and little trinkets. You have no idea how he’s going to survive without his tech shit.

You also have no idea how you’re going to survive without internet.

You hear the bedroom door open and your brows furrow. “We gotta leave by five if we’re gonna get there on time,” Bro says from the doorway. You groan, pulling your pillow out from under your head and holding it over your face. Maybe you could suffocate yourself, you think. It would be a more peaceful way to go than being mauled by something in the woods.

You only wallow in self pity for a few more minutes before you’re being pulled from your room. You send a silent farewell to your preserved animals and photo equipment before you’re lugging your bags to the elevator. You don’t even attempt to hide your frustration. You hope Bro sees your deep frown and feels guilty, the fucker. Pulling you from your home to play in the dirt all summer. Like fucking hell you are.

Your ear buds are in and the music is loud enough to block out sound. You take the back seat, making a point to sprawl out and relax against the door. You see Dirk’s lips tighten as he climbs into the front seat, but you ignore it. If you’re going to be forced into this you are going to make your time as bearable as possible.

 

The long drive up to California was as boring and uneventful as you could have expected it to be. You don’t even know where this fucking place is. All you do know is that it’s this big camp that kids travel the country to go to. If that doesn’t scream ‘I have no life,’ you don’t know what does.

You can tell you’re getting close to the place once the city starts to thin out and all you see is trees, trees. Oh what’s that? More trees. You sigh deeply and exaggeratedly into your palm that’s keeping you propped up against the car door, blearily staring out the window. The car still smells like the McDonald’s Bro had bought about an hour ago, and you silently weep for the fries you won’t be able to eat until you return from this hell hole they call camp.

Before you know it, Bro is pulling onto a dirt road that leads to a large, open area. There’s a lot more cars than you were expecting, and there’s a large cabin right at the end of the wide roundabout. You see smaller cabins in the back and beside the largest one, and you see signs that read: “Offices,” and “Nurse,” and “Mess Hall,” but especially you see the large sign with a thick engraving that reads: “Welcome to Camp Skaia,” the letters painted a light blue against the pristine white-colored wood.

You want to go home.

There’s a large mass of kids who are saying their goodbyes to their parents; large bags by their feet and thrown over their shoulders. Like you, they’re all dressed in the camp’s attire. A sky blue shirt with the camp’s logo printed across the front. The fabric is starchy against your chest as you sit up in your seat, due to the fact that you’re wearing it for the first time. However, like Dirk, you also see a number of older kids in white shirts, some with and some without “CIT,” printed in a dark blue against the back.

You really want to go home.

Dirk is the first to get out of the car once Bro pulls up as close to the main cabin as he can get. You can hear your brother grabbing bags out of the trunk and you sigh, avoiding Bro’s gaze from the rearview mirror. You huff as you push yourself out of the car, making a point to close the door harshly behind you, red backpack thrown over your shoulder as you go to get the rest of your things from the trunk. Once all of your bags are unloaded, you look over to Dirk, not sure what you should be doing next.

“Orientation is in about ten minutes. We should probably head over there,” he says, looking down at a roster. Bro comes up behind you before you bend down to grab your duffle bag, and he stands awkwardly over you. He feels bad. He fucking better.

It’s Bro who bends down to pick up one of yours and one of Dirk’s bags in each hand, and you don’t protest. It’s hot and humid and your second duffle bag and backpack are already enough. You tell yourself that you should probably take off your sweatshirt, but you’re lazy and don’t want to put your backpack in the dirt.

Both you and Dirk pick up the remaining bags and make your way over to the large group forming by the front of the mess hall where a podium and large speakers have been set  up. There are a few chairs lined up on either side of the podium, but they’re all empty. You look over to see Dirk staring down at the roster, and his lips are moving like he’s whispering to himself. Nothing new. Bro comes up behind you both with your bags and drops them behind you. He’s supposed to leave now, and you all know this, but he looks apologetic as he stares down at you.

“Have fun,” he says.

“Yeah,” is your only reply. Dirk is still reading the schedule.

Bro looks like he wants to say more, but remains silent and instead chooses to ruffle at your hair a bit and saying his goodbyes before he heads off back to the car. Dramatic partings aren’t really your family’s thing.

It only takes a few more minutes of standing around before people begin to take their seats. You see a few kids that look only a few years older than you take their spots on their selective chairs, sitting between a few adults. One is a girl with short blonde hair and pale skin with blue lipstick, another is a pretentious-looking boy with a tan complexion and fluffy, dark hair squished to his head under his visor and a clip board in his hand. The last is an Asian girl sitting with her legs a little too far apart for someone in a skirt as she slouches back against the chair, arms crossed over her chest, helping to reveal more of her cleavage out of the space she cut out around the neck of her shirt.

The last person to take the stage is a pale, balding man who you assume is the head director, or whatever the hell official camp titles are. He’s wearing white slacks and a pressed green shirt, and he stands tall from his place behind the podium. The crowd quiets down just in time for you to hear the man say: “Hello! And welcome, campers, to Camp Skaia!”

“Should we sign in now or wait until after the orientation. . .” Dirk says to himself and you take the paper out of his hands, folding it up and shoving it in your hoodie pocket.

“Dude, relax, it’s camp,” you tell him when he gives you a disgruntled glare. “We’ll sign in after the thing. The lines are probably long right now, anyway.” And boy, do you hate lines.

Dirk stays quiet and just turns back to the stage. You, on the other hand, are not paying attention. Instead you’re busy playing with an app on your phone, tying to avoid zombies that launch themselves at your van. You hear a few words from the dumb speech every so often. Things like “Activities,” and “Curfews,” and “Friends.”

A kid bumps into your elbow and it swerves your car into on obstacle, making you lose and you frown, closing the app. You should probably save your battery, anyway. However, you still keep your music on.

The big speech ends with applause from the crowd, some more excited than others. Instead, your frown deepens as you follow Dirk over to some tables. “Campers sign in over there,” he says, pointing to a table at the end of the line near the end of the office cabin. You sigh, situating your bags on your arms as you walk away from your brother, moving to stand on the short line for sign in.

It only takes a few minutes for you to get to the front, and a short, nice looking woman with blonde hair and light skin is writing down names on a long list. “Name?” she asks.

“Dave Strider.”

“Strider, Strider,” she says to herself as she flips through alphabetized pages. A good portion of the names have already been highlighted, and when she finds yours, it’s with an “Aha!” and a yellow mark drawn through it. “You’re going to be in Boy’s Cabin 4. Your buddy is John Egbert.”

“Buddy?” you ask. This camp has a damn buddy system?

“Yes, buddy!” she smiles up at you. “You should be able to find him back by the mess hall. All buddies not partnered yet will be waiting there.”

You grunt, turning away from the table and pushing past a few oblivious campers as you walk back over to the large cabin. Buddies? Seriously? How the hell were you even supposed to find this kid? You don’t know what he looks like. However, with a name like John Egbert, he sounds like a total doof.

Just as promised, there’s a large group of confused-looking campers standing by the east wall of the cabin. You are one of them now, looking around aimlessly for someone you have never seen before. One of them looks like he’s been waiting there for a while. His bags are on the ground and he’s sitting on them, chin in his palm as he tiredly(sadly?) scans the crowd from behind thick-rimmed glasses.

You turn away from him, and instead look around a bit more. You see a few kids pairing up here and there, and names are being called out as more group up. You cough awkwardly. You hear no one calling for you. Maybe this Egbert kid isn’t even here yet. . .

You mumble out a “John,” and see a few kids turn to look at you. Alright, well. . . “Egbert?” you say a little more loudly, and those heads turn away. All except for one. It’s the kid on his bags, and he stands up, quickly moving to pick up his duffle and scurries over to you. The smile on his face is wide and bright, and if you thought he looked tired before, damn were you wrong. He looks like the happiest kid here. You already hate this.

He’s shorter than you by a few inches, but his wind-blown hair makes up for most of it. His glasses are a little skewed over the bridge of his nose and his crooked smile is clearly framing an overbite. Offhandedly, you think the name “Egbert” suits him quite well.

“Dave?” he asks, and his voice was the slightest bit nasally and a little higher than you were expecting it to be, but you nod dumbly.

“In the flesh.”

He keeps smiling as you two walk away, side by side. You want to get to the cabins and put your shit down; you’re tired of holding these heavy bags. John keeps up pretty well for someone who has to readjust the strap of their duffle every couple of minutes. He sure is chatty, though, and seems to never run out of breath.

“How are you even wearing all of that right now? It’s like, 95 degrees. Maybe you’re from the south? You’re probably just used to it. I’m from Washington. Seattle to be exact. It’s pretty cool but the weather there is really crazy, aha. One second it’s a perfect day then the next there’s a downpour! I don’t really have many friends up there so there’s that but we’re buddies now! I’m really excited-“

You stop listening to him, and instead turn your music back up to drown him out. Eight weeks. Eight weeks you have to stay at this fucking camp. You don’t know if you’re going to be able to make it out alive.

 

“Name?”

“Dirk Strider.”

“CIT Cabin is the first by the Camper’s Cabins.”

“Ah! So there’s four of us, is there?”

You hear a vaguely British-sounding voice come from behind you, and you turn to find a boy that looks about your age and height, tan skin and messy, dark hair. Instantly, you’re drawn to where his shirt hugs a little too tightly to his shoulders, but you’re looking back up in under a second, instead drawn to the large grin on his face and slight overbite protruding there. He’s extremely endearing and you feel slightly nervous. You want to go back to the quiet of your room and work on your robots.

“I was afraid I was going to be the only male in our group! Good to see I was proven wrong. Not to mean any disrespect to the girls, though, but a guy does need guy friends also, you know? I’m Jake English!” His hand darts out and grasps your own, shaking it animatedly as he introduces himself, and your whole arm shakes with his motions. You’re already analyzing the feel of his palm against yours; calloused and warm. You are not used to friendly physical gestures.

“Jake!”

You both turn to look for the source of the voice. It’s a short, dark-haired girl, and she’s bounding over to you both, smile on her face. She seems to have her own dental needs as well, and you wonder if they’re somehow related. “Jane! I was wondering when you would arrive!”

She latches onto his arm, and the way she smiles and holds him tightly gives you the feeling that they aren’t related, and most likely dating. Or she wishes. Either way, he drops your grip and you move to instead grab at your duffle strap, adjusting your sunglasses back over the bridge of your nose.

“It was nice meeting you, Dirk!” Jake says as he adjusts his own glasses as well. “I’m off to get my bags, so I’ll meet you back in the cabin then?”

You nod dumbly and watch as they walk away together, Jane now taking hold of the conversation, and for some reason, you feel jealous of the way their arms are linked.

This is going to be a long eight weeks.


	2. And so it begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Dave meet their new cabin mates, and Dirk is beginning to think this whole camp thing may not be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good thing the majority of the trolls aren't going to have major roles in this because I really need work on writing them. . .

“I call top,” you say monotonously, tossing your duffles onto the upper bed. You hear John whine from behind you as he enters the cabin, the screen door banging shut behind him, but you pay him no mind. Instead, you jump up and situate yourself on the elevated mattress, pulling a clean pillow out of your bag and falling back on it. Your ear buds are still in, and you close your eyes, trying to focus on the beat. It’s hard to ignore the smells surrounding you. Dirt and mothballs and cobwebs. You are so out of your element.

You feel the bed frame shake as John situates himself on the bottom bunk, unpacking a few things and falling back against the mattress as well. He seems to not be able to get comfortable, as you keep feeling vibrations as he shifts. Your eyebrows knit at the shaking, already aggravated enough, but finally he seems to get himself situated and relaxes.

For a few minutes, you’re able to chill. Just listening to your music as it plays in your ears, your eyes closed. You fold your arms behind your head and cross your legs at your ankles and just, relax. If you try hard enough, you can imagine yourself back in your room. You can imagine the sounds of Dirk working on his projects. You can imagine the sounds of the television from the living room. The smell of leftover pizza.

At some point, you can hear the mumbling of an unfamiliar voice through your music, and then reality comes back to you. It’s John, and his voice just barely makes it though your ear buds, but it’s enough. You scowl before reluctantly opening your eyes, and the first thing you see is the dirty window on your left and cobwebs on the ceiling. You still hear John from the bunk below, but you have no idea what he’s saying, so begrudgingly, you let one of the buds fall from your ear.

You stop listening just as soon as you start. He’s just going on about friendship again. Honestly, you feel bad for the fact that he apparently didn’t have many friends back home, but you can see why he was never really accepted into any groups there, either. His voice alone was grating enough, which was only amplified by the fact that he never seemed to know when it was time to stop talking. All of your cold stares didn’t seem to penetrate his bubble at all. He just kept talking about the sporadic weather of Seattle.

He’s going on about camp activities now. Something about horseback riding. Honestly, all you’re hoping for is that the food here isn’t complete shit. Also apparently they only have communal showers? That’s probably going to be as awkward as you’re expecting it to be. You shift a little bit on your mattress, and it’s lumpy beneath you.

A loud, angry voice is what finally cuts off John’s words, and you pray- as the voice gets closer- that it will pass your cabin. However, since luck has not been on your side, the loud voice just gets closer and closer, and before you know it, you can hear two pairs of feet making their way up the steps to the door of the cabin. Luck has been as far from your side as possible. Luck wants absolutely nothing to do with you. Luck is a stone cold bitch.

“And for the last time stop touching my fucking hat!”

You groan, knowing that any semblance of serenity you had left just went flying out the window. More like shot out the window, glass shards being propelled at high speeds. There’s a handful of fatalities. A handful too much, and you mourn the loss. The source of the voice and his companion make their way nosily into the cabin, and you feel the bed shake as John shifts up. Undoubtedly to greet your new cabin mates.

One is a boy more around John’s height. He’s the one with the loud voice. His dark hair is ratty and shoved under one of the camp hats. His darker skin is being concealed by his red hoodie, and he’s grumpily addressing his buddy. His buddy freaks you out just the smallest bit. He’s tall. Maybe about two inches taller than you, and his dark hair is as equally messy as the shouty one. What really flips you out though, are his eyes. Dark, and dead. The smile on his face is dopey, but it just makes his entire demeanor that much weirder. His eyes flick up to you, and you nearly flinch.

“Hi!” John breaks the silence, jumping up from his place on his bed and moving to stand in front of the short one. “My name’s John! I’m guessing you’re our cabin mates?”

“Obviously,” the grumpy one replies, and he shoves his hands into his pockets after adjusting his hat. “Well, introductions never fail to suck. I’m Karkat, that’s Gamzee. I’m guessing you’re the fucks we’re stuck with for the rest of this damn thing.”

You think you could get along with this Karkat guy.

John just laughs a little awkwardly and rocks on his heels. His eyes flash up to you for a second as he scans the rest of the room. At his silence, Karkat walks around him to the other available bunk and tosses his things on the bottom. “And you?”

You’re caught off guard for a moment, then realize he’s asking for your name. “Dave.” He just nods, not even looking in your direction, and proceeds to unpack a few items and sets them out on the bed. You can hear him muttering to himself.

Your eyes shift over to the creepy, lanky one now standing in the corner. Feeling a little weirded out, you go back to ignoring them and instead put your ear buds back in and turn up the volume a few notches. You think you get a good ten minutes before the bed frame shakes violently, and your eyes shoot open and see John smiling at you from the side of the bunk, hands gripping the railing as he stands on his own bed. “C’mon, Dave! We’re gonna go check out the camp!”

You would rather drink piss than go back outside, but you know that if John gets caught without his buddy, you’re going to get shit for it. You scowl. This place fucking sucks. But, begrudgingly, you get up and hop down the ladder, turning off your music and throwing your sweatshirt back on the bunk before you follow your small party back out the door.

It’s nearing noon now, you offhandedly realize, and the sun is openly beating down upon you from the clear sky. No cloud in sight that could possibly help to shield you from the harsh rays. The heat is not something you are unused to, but it’s bright and uncomfortable and you would much rather be inside with some video games and a cold bottle of apple juice. John skips next to you, hands behind his back as he examines his surroundings. What’s there to examine? There’s a few dozen cabins, lots of dirt paths and lots of trees. You make a mental note to examine those later. Maybe you can find a nice hiding spot, or at least a place to cool down in the shade.

There’s a shit ton of campers milling about, not that you were expecting otherwise, but they’re loud and it feels crowded. John leads your small group around the other campers until you’re following another dirt path around the cabins. This one leads you back around to where you drove in, but there’s a few little cabins you hadn’t seen upon your arrival. The most important one being the small food stand. You make a mental note to come back to that one later.

There are a few of those poles around with multiple, small signs on them. The little wooden arrows pointing to the location of the words engraved on them. Most of the signs are pointing to your left, where the larger, more important cabins are, but a few point to your right. They read: “Archery Field,” “Barns,” and “Lake Skaia.”

“Hey, let’s check out the lake!” John exclaims, hopping a little beside you. You make no comment, merely following where the rest of them want to go. You couldn’t give two shits. Karkat just grunts and mumbles things to himself, and the tall one just stares off.

Again, John takes the lead, bounding down the dirt path and you all follow him into the trees. There’s lots of tall pines and oaks and the minute you walk beneath them you are shaded by their leaves. You can see a clearing up ahead, and you guess you’re approaching the archery field. As you leave the shade of the trees and continue walking closer to the field, you can see a counselor fiddling with the equipment. He’s tan and he’s tall, but the most eye-catching part of him is his hair. The red streaks in his Mohawk are what hold your attention. But you’re group is passing, so you look away and stare at the trees.

As you continue to wander down the path, your group is pretty quiet. John is smiling softly as he looks around. Karkat is just kicking along a small stone and Gamzee is taking long, languid steps, lagging behind you all just a bit. You can see the barn about 50 feet to your left, and it’s close to the edge of the trees. A second, larger path is there that you guess is used for the campers when they ride. A large pen is fenced off, and you’re walking along the wooden fence as you examine the horses relaxing in the field. There’s only three at the moment, but you can see another counselor in the midst of washing a large, white horse.

A few minutes later, you’re still walking alongside the fence to the barn, but now you can see the sparkling of water up ahead. John starts to get excited again, and he picks up his pace slightly as you get nearer to the lake. The trees canopy you fully again, and the small shade from before is once again engulfing you. It’s only for a moment however, and then they clear to reveal the beach. It’s an average beach for a camp. It’s wide, and if you had to guess, you all probably could have cut through the trees to get here a few minutes earlier. The water itself looks pretty clean, and there’s a large pile of raked up seaweed by one of the long docks. Another counselor is standing knee-deep in the lake, and he continues to rake out the plants and toss them onto the growing pile.

Pulled up on the beach itself are a handful of small canoes, and they’re wet and clean, so you’re guessing they were just washed. Their colors vary from reds to greens to blues. A loud slurping is what brings your attention up to the lifeguard’s post, and there you see, surprise, the lifeguard. Her tan legs are crossed at her knees and kicked up over the armrest as she relaxes, sunglasses over her eyes and soda in her hand. From where you stand, her hair looks short, but you are positive you can see a long braid hanging off the opposite side of the chair. She pays no mind to you all, just keeps slurping at her drink and watches the boy in the water.

“Meenah!”

The call comes from behind you, and now you see another group of campers enter the beach. The one who called out is now waving toward the lifeguard post, and with her are three other campers. One is a pale guy with average brown hair and odd colored glasses. Another is an Asian girl a few inches taller than the other girl who is now leading the group around your own. The last is another boy with a dumb, purple streak in his hair. Aside from the purple dye, he very much resembles the boy raking seaweed.

“Damn, Fef, I was wondering when you would get here,” the lifeguard(Meenah) says, situating herself so she can hop down to the sand. The other girl(Fef) runs up and hugs her, and then she’s doing introductions.

“This is my buddy, Aradia,” she points to the Asian girl, who smiles in greeting, and then she’s addressing the two boys. “And that’s Sollux and Eridan.”

“Hey,” is all Meenah says, nodding her head in greeting.

“How about instead of greetings, you come get that pink bikini of yours wet and help me rake this shit,” says the guy in the water, and your brows furrow at the weird way “V”s seem to mix with his “W”s.

“Shut up, Cronus, I did my half,” Meenah says. “So quit bein’ a damn baby.”

By now, Fef and her group have made their way out to the dock, and they’re all sitting by the buoys, some with their feet in the water and holding idle chat. Meenah begins to make her way over to the dock, but is stopped when John speaks up from his place by the canoes. “Are we allowed to use these?”

“You’re supposed to get permission, but I don’t care. As long as you know how to use ‘em correctly.”

John smiles again as Meenah walks down the dock, and you are very much done with standing here. “Can we go back? There’s only so much standing around in the sand one guy can do.”

“I’m with shades on this one,” Karkat says, tossing his stone into the lake, “Besides, I think we’re all supposed to be meeting up in the mess hall soon for lunch.” Your face twists at that, and you can already imagine the lumpy, flavorless mac n’ cheese that awaits you.

“Mmm, good call, Karbro. I’m fuckin’ starving.” Those are the first words Gamzee says and you hope they’re also the last. Karkat tells him to stop calling him that.

John sighs, but concedes, and you all follow the same path back to camp.

 

You sigh once you finally toss your bags onto your bunk, and you stand there for a moment, examining the cabin. There are a few windows: two on either side of the door and one on the wall your bunk is against. You see a small hole in the screen of the door, and you make a mental note to keep the second, more substantial door closed as often as you can. It’s a little dusty, and you can see a few cobwebs in the upper corners of the cabin. You just hope that all of the spiders are gone.

You sigh again, sitting down on the lumpy mattress and interlocking your fingers in your lap. You’re not quite sure what you’re supposed to be doing now. Your work officially starts tomorrow, when you have to start leading your group of kids to their activities. So, you just sit, and silently wonder if Jake will be greeting you again as soon as you would like him to. Mainly because you’re now bored and lonely. But, that’s not a new feeling for you. More often then not you find yourself in the company of your own thoughts. And your robots, but you don’t have those here with you.

Your eyes flit over to your bags. You could always play a video game? You do have a good hour before you’re supposed to make your way over to the mess hall for lunch. You quirk your lips as you reach over and dig around in your bag, feeling for your 3DS, but freeze when a loud bang sounds from the door.

You turn and find a blonde girl, carrying a few duffles and a backpack, kicking the screen door back open and pushing her way inside. She tosses her bags on  the upper bunk across from your own and stands tall with her hands on her hips, exclaiming triumphantly. “Ha!”

She turns to face you now, and her smile is wide on her face. Her skin is pale and her eyes are a light hazel. “Hey there!” she says, still staring down at you, “name’s Roxy! And you, Mr. Anime Shades?”

You stop your stutter before it can leave your mouth, then you reply with a simple, “Dirk.”

“’Dirk,’ huh?” she says, falling back onto the lower bunk, now level with you on your own. “That come with a last name?”

“It’s Strider.”

 _“Strider,”_ she says, humming as she folds her arms behind her head, legs crossing at her ankles. “That sounds cool. Dirk Strider.” You think you hear her mumble _Dick Rider_ under her breath before she’s giggling. You feel a little embarrassed. Then she turns to you, rolling up on her side with her arm thrown over her hip, the other propping her up. “Mine’s Lalonde.” You just nod.

“So what brings you here, Di-Stri?” she asks after a few beats of silence.

“Well,” you start, silently reminding yourself to keep your sentences from getting too out of control with metaphors. “My school was doing this program, and I needed community service hours for graduation. So I was sent here.”

“Ah, so you’re not goin’ for the full counselor deal?” you shake your head. “That’s what I’m here for! Unfortunately you gotta be 18 to be one. Too bad for me that I have late birthday. Next year though, I’ll be back! Give those other counselors a run for their money.”

You’re a little intimidated by her loud voice, but she’s cool you guess. She’s someone you could warm up to. Well, not like you have a choice in the matter. You will be seeing a lot of each other.

“So, where you from?” She asks, keeping the conversation going, and you’re relieved. You’re not that great with the whole ‘small talk’ thing, and you would rather the cabin not fall back into lonely silence again.

“Houston, Texas.”

“And are you a right southern gentleman?”

You just shrug. “I guess.” Your fingers fiddle together in your lap.

“I’m from New York. I know, long trip, right? Well, I was picked from a handful of candidates. Also it looks good on a college application, you feel?” You just nod again.

“You alright there, Dirky? You don’t gotta be all shy with me.” You have even less to say at her statement. “What’s up?”

You keep your eyes diverted. “Nothing.” You’ve done more talking in the last five minutes than you had over the span of last week. What do you even talk about?

She stares you down for a few seconds longer before she’s shrugging and flopping back over on the mattress again. You relax now and watch the way her feet move to her humming. You cringe a bit at the dirt left on the mattress from the souls of her Vans.

The near silence is broken when two pairs of feet make their way up to the cabin door. You turn to find Jake and Jane, and Roxy sits up as well with interest. “Hello, Dirk!” Jake says, walking over to you and tossing his bags up on the bunk above you.

“Hey, Jake,” you greet.

“I see you’ve made yourself comfortable,” he takes a seat down next to you. “I do hope you don’t mind, but I feel the girls should have their own bunk, don’t you think?”

You just shrug, more interested in the two inches of space between his thigh and your own. “That’s fine.”

“Hello, Roxy.”

“Hey, Jakey. Hey, Janey.” Roxy stands up at this, letting Jane take over the bottom bunk. She climbs up the ladder to the top, now sitting cross-legged up there. “You guys missed our proper introductions!”

“Well, I’m sure you’re fine with starting from the beginning, Rox.”

“Full name’s Roxy Lalonde. I’m from New York and was picked as the best out of 50 to come here. So here I am!”

“And you, Dirk?” Jake asks, and you see Jane looking at you curiously over her shoulder as she unpacks.

“Um, I’m from Texas,” _Houston!_ Roxy says over you, and Jake is listening to you intently, his amazingly dark green eyes watching you as you talk. “I’m here for graduation hours,” you shrug, feeling a little uncomfortable under so many gazes, “I’m Dirk Strider.”

“’Strider,’ eh?” Jake says, and you nod. “Interesting.” Is that good?

“Well, I’ll go next, then!” Jake says, fixing his posture. “Jane and I both come from Seattle, Washington. When I was younger, I used to live out in the Pacific, but moved for family reasons. Jane and I have been friends ever since! And that was back in Elementary school, wasn’t it, Jane?”

Jane just nods, and you see her smiling as she fluffs up her pillow.

“Honestly, I’m here for the same reason you are, Dirk. I just didn’t seem to get in the hours I needed. But then Jane told me she was attending this place, so why not join? And in turn, here I am!”

Roxy leans over her bunk, hands gripping onto the railing as she looks down at Jane. “Your turn, Janey.”

“Well, it’s all pretty much what Jake said. My name’s Jane Crocker. I’m here to become a counselor next summer.”

“Ditto!” says Roxy, and one of her hands drop, palm open, for what you expect to be a high five for Jane. Jane taps her own palm against Roxy’s before she’s leaning back up, her flipped hair now a little messy. “Next year I’ll be a counselor, too!” Jane smiles.

Roxy continues to keep up the conversation, and Jake interjects every so often. There’s a comfortable atmosphere in the cabin now, with Roxy’s laughing and Jake’s stories and Jane’s additions to such tales. You allow a soft smile to grace your lips as you watch them all.

You think this is that friendship thing you’ve heard so much about today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on my [tumblr](http://thesunmaid.tumblr.com/) for more updates! also you can check out the [campskaia blog](http://campskaia.tumblr.com/) for other stuff too!


	3. This camp has its own black market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet a few more camp members and the cafeteria food is just as disgusting as one could have expected it to be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait!! ive been going through lots of personal stuff and its really taking a toll on me but i really wanted to get this chapter out! because i want to start getting more into friendships and away from pissy dave
> 
> also sorry for the short chapter :(( hopefully upcoming ones will be longer

The mess hall is loud and crowded as your group enters through the large cabin doors. So much blue, blue, blue, you’re afraid you might lose your group. However you slide through the masses with ease, and a quick glance over your shoulder shows you that John is able to keep up without the need of a leading hand. Not that you were planning on even holding his hand in the first place. You just don’t want to have to deal with the inconvenience of finding him again.

You continue to push straight through until you’ve reached the lunch line, which is steadily growing as you take your place. You look over at John as you relax against the wall, and although he looks winded, he still beams up at you. It reminds you of a puppy who did its trick correctly. You just passively stare down at him.

It’s in this moment you realize that you lost the other half of your party. You’re mostly indifferent about the loss of Karkat’s presence, but you’re somewhat relieved that the tall one is gone. John tries to look over the crowd and behind the line, and you guess he’s thinking the same thing you are, but the line is moving and you care more about the possibility of a good food selection than your two cabin mates. They’ll turn up eventually.

When the last camper moves out of your way, you finally come face to face with the kitchen. There’s a long line of choices, it seems, and you scan your eyes over the many trays in front of you. You see sad looking sandwiches, possibly thoroughly cooked mac n’ cheese, and some burgers. There’s loads of water bottles in ice bins near the end of the line, and you see a large selection of juices as well. But that’s it. No muffins or sweets or appetizing food at all. You sigh as you move down the line, and you grab one of the chicken patty sandwiches as John quickly scoops mac n’ cheese onto his tray. You eye it disdainfully, and you have a feeling he won’t be feeling so hot later.

You grab a bottle of apple juice(and silently wonder if you can sneak a second) before you’re heading off to find an empty spot. John jogs up behind you, his dark, messy hair bobbing as he catches up with your pace. You see an empty spot closer to the doors, and you sigh, walking over to it without a word. John continues to follow you without question.

You toss your tray down before you as you take your seat on the uncomfortable, wooden bench. John is much more reserved, and places his tray down next to yours as he swings his legs over the seat. Then it’s quiet. Well, not like you were holding actual conversation before, but now it’s actually time to eat, and you can’t do more than just stare down at your plate. John does the same, hand hesitantly moving for his spoon. You watch his movements carefully, waiting for him to take the first bite.

When he does, it’s comical to say the least. Face scrunching, eyes closing, tongue sticking out as he drops his spoon down to his tray. All accompanied by a very distinctive: “Bluh.” He shakes his head a few times and then goes for his water, taking a few long gulps. You’re still watching him when he puts his bottle down and looks at you. “It’s clumpy and cold,” he tells you.

His eyes shift down quickly to your plate then back up to your face, and now it’s your turn. You look down at the wrapped sandwich before you, and John waits silently for your next move. Hesitantly, you unwrap the bun from its paper, and then hold it in your hands as you stare down at it. John’s eyes keep flicking from your face, to the sandwich, and back up to your face again as he waits.

Well, it’s now or never, and you take a bite out of the chicken. It’s an average school lunch patty, so the flavor isn’t anything new, but it’s warm and cooked thoroughly and you smirk, taking a second bite after you finish chewing. John slumps in his seat and frowns, looking back at his plate of terrible macaroni and cheese. His head turns back to the lunch line, probably wondering if he can get something new. You feel a little bad for him. No one should have to be forced to eat that shit on his plate called food.

“Hey, Dave.”

You and John both turn to find your brother and some other dude. You and Dirk stare passively at each other from behind your shades, but John seems to know the other guy, if the way they smile and greet each other is any indication. You learn his name is Jake.

“What do you want?” you ask your brother. You just want him to leave you alone. He’s half of the reason why you’re here, your resentment is totally understandable.

“Just. . . seeing how you’re doing, I guess. . .”

“Well, I’m just right as rain,” you tell him sarcastically. “I see you’ve already found yourself a boyfriend,” you spit, and it’s bitter, but you take a little pride in the way Dirk tenses at your words and you can sense his glare from behind his shades. Jake just blinks as confusion washes over his face. _Boyfriend?_ You hear him ask.

You just snort and smirk again as Dirk’s lips tighten. “C’mon, Jake,” he says, walking away from your table. Jake turns and follows him, his steps a little quicker to keep up with your brother’s long strides.

“Was that your brother or something?” John asks as you both turn back around in your seats again.

“Yeah.”                   

“That’s cool. I don’t have any siblings, but I have a cousin! Actually, she’s a CIT here,” and he smiles as he tries to make conversation, though you don’t pay him too much attention. He looks down at his plate, then after a moment of hesitation, pushes it away. Appetite: gone. You just go back to eating your sandwich.

 

“What did your brother mean by that boyfriend remark, Dirk?”

“Nothing, he’s just a shit. Ignore him.”

You and Jake sit down with your trays at a small, round table away from the long benches for the campers. Jane and Roxy are already there, talking animatedly and looking at papers as they eat their food. You and Jake sit across from them as they welcome you both to the table, shifting their chairs and getting comfortable.

“So, what have we here?” Jake asks, looking over the trays at the sheets of paper between the two girls.

“Camper lists!” Roxy says, shifting the papers into the middle of the table for everyone to see. “Janey was looking to see if she’s going to be in charge of her cousin’s group.”

“Unfortunately not, but I have your sister, Jake.”

“Rats,” Jake says, sitting back in his chair, “I was hoping I would have Jade’s group. What about you, Dirk? Do you have your brother?”

A quick glance down at the lists suggest that you do, in fact, have your brother’s group. You nod simply to answer Jake’s question before you try to eat. You shouldn’t have gotten the mac n’ cheese. You just poke it around with your plastic fork as the other’s continue to discuss groups.

“I’ve got my little sister’s group!” Roxy exclaims, pointing her lean finger at one of the names on the paper.

“I don’t recognize a soul in my own,” Jake says, eyes scanning over the paper. “I guess I’ll just have to wait for when some groups meet up for activities, now won’t I?”

“Aww, Jake!” Roxy says, slinging an arm over his shoulder, “Your group can come hang out with mine whenever you want!”

“Thank you, Roxy, I appreciate your offer.”

In your head, you tell him “Ditto,” but on the outside you continue to passively push your dissatisfying meal around your tray.

“So,” Jake asks, “how does this whole shebang usually go?”

“Well, the grounds leader, Kankri, usually likes to have rule discussions and what not, but those are pretty lame and just take up time, in my opinion. He also likes to have lots of campfires and all campers have to go,” Roxy explains, the papers no longer important as her hands move around animatedly. “But other than that, we just kinda go from place to place. There’s schedules and stuff that you need to check for, though. Like if your group wants to go horseback riding, you have to sign up for it. They usually go with multiple groups around the path. . .”

Roxy goes on for the rest of the lunch time, explaining how activities work, where they are and who runs them. You learn more gossip than you would have liked, and you just hope you’ll never do anything to get you on that list.

 

When you finish eating and dispose of your trays, you and John walk out of the mess hall and begin to wander around again. It’s a little more empty around the campgrounds now that the majority of the kids are inside eating and socializing. You take solace in the silence, now just trying to keep yourself calm. You don’t _want_ to keep feeling angry and pissy, but being forced to go somewhere for an extended period of time does that to people. Especially to someone like you, who would much rather be inside his bedroom with his expensive technology instead of out in the dirt and heat.

You exhale deeply through your nostrils and shove your hands into your pockets. John’s walking in step beside you, looking around at the cabins and such but also back at you a lot, like he’s waiting for you to do or say something. Well, tough luck, kid. He’s not going to be getting much other than silence for a while.

Your eyes open when you hear a distinct growling noise from beside you, and you turn your head to find John looking down at his stomach. You quirk a brow, although it’s not very visible, but he gets the message. “I didn’t eat,” he tells you, and his hands come up and clutch at his belly as it protests again.

You’re both on the path back to the cabins now, and you hesitate, thinking. John stops a couple paces ahead of you and gives you a questioning look. “C’mon,” is all you tell him.

Confused, but without question, John follows you to your mystery destination, keeping a few paces behind you. You’ve turned around and are headed back in the direction of the mess hall. Maybe you can sneak him another lunch or something. John seems to be getting the idea, and his pace begins to match yours again now that he knows where you’re taking him.

However, as you pass a fork in your path, you see that tiny cabin again, but now from the front. You find that it’s not just a random, little cabin, and in fact a stand. A food stand if the sign over the open window is anything to go by.

You make a sharp turn to the right and John trips over himself in surprise, but he easily rights himself and is jogging after you in the direction of the new destination. It’s on a small incline, and you hop up the few steps and stand before the large, open window. At first, you only see  one vendor, however the spark of a lighter catches your attention and alerts you to the other vendor inside, sitting in the back corner. It smells like pot.

The first vendor spots you both. She’s got wild, long, dark hair and striking green eyes. She hops over to the window, perching her elbows on the wooden frame and holding her chin in her palms. “What can I get you?” she asks cheerfully, and a little loudly, and you turn to John. He looks at you blankly for a second, then turns to the girl at the counter.

“Uh. I’ll have the, um,” and he stands up a little straighter, looking around the girl to scan over his options. You see lots of chip bags and juice and you think you might be smelling french fries though you don’t actually see them anywhere. There’s a shocking lack of candy and you slouch a little bit, dejected. You see crackers and mini cookie packs. There isn’t really a whole lot here. Well, at least nothing really interesting you. Those mystery fries smell pretty good, though.

John looks around a bit more, probably just as dissatisfied as you. “Do you have fries?” he asks a little hesitantly. The girl turns her head around to the intimidating boy in the back corner. He signs to her, and you’re a little surprised as she signs back. What was the need for the sign language?

When the boy puts his hand down and goes back to playing with his lighter, the girl turns back to you and nods slowly as she says: “Sorry we don’t have fries.” Your eyebrows knit in confusion and John just looks lost. At this she leans over the counter and makes a “come closer” movement with her finger. John leans in, and you just rest your arm against the wooden counter. “All the cool food was kicked off the menu this year, which we think is _totally_ unfair. We still secretly sell what we have left in the back, which is a lot. Just whatever you do, don’t tell Kankri we still have it.”

Who the fuck is Kankri? You guess you’ll be finding out soon, though. John just nods, and the girl stands up straight again, smiling. “Three bucks,” she says, and turns to the back, shuffling around in the shadows the boy is sitting in.

“U-um,” John looks up at you, but you ignore him as you reach into your back pocket. He wasn’t expecting to pay for any food and you’re the one who took him to the stand in the first place. You remove the few dollars you have on you and slide them over the counter as the girl comes back with John’s food. He’s hesitant about taking the fries, but he eventually does, and the girl waves to you both and smiles as you leave.

John’s picking at his fries as you both make your way back to your cabin. “You really didn’t have to.”

You take one of his fries and toss it in your mouth before answering. “Don’t mention it. Just eat them.”

And he does.

 

The rest of the day is spent in your cabin until you’re called back to he mess hall for dinner. John still talked a lot, but he toned it down a little. Made decent jokes. Even got you to laugh once. Just once, you’ll give him that.

Karkat and Gamzee sit with you both during dinner, which is mashed potatoes from a box and scary looking meat. You think you might stop by that stand again later and see what other food they have. Those fries were good.

When you’re all finally released and back in your cabins, the first thing you do is climb up to your bunk and fall back on it, sighing. You hear John and Karkat holding conversation about tomorrow’s activities, what group you’ll be in and who your group CIT is going to be. John hopes it’s going to be his cousin and you pray that it’s not your brother. He’s not a bad guy but he can be awkward as all hell and you don’t want to be around when that train wrecks. It will be even worse if he actually does have the hots for that tan kid. You were just trying to get his goat earlier but he seemed pretty ticked off instead of making his usual quip back. You weep for your brother, that kid looks like a total dweeb.

After the sun has finished setting and the crickets are chirping outside under the clear, night sky, you all head off to the bathrooms to wash up. Some kids shower, but you are not in the mood or even particularly dirty, so you head back ahead of your group and take comfort in your solitude as you strip down and change into your pajamas.

The rest of your group comes back a little bit after you’ve gotten comfortable in your bunk again. You can hear the counselors calling lights out as they walk from cabin to cabin, so the rest of your group sets out their things, turn off the lights and quiet down as they all climb into their lumpy beds.

You’re not looking forward to tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont worry, dave wont be pissy forever
> 
> im not quite sure when i'll have the next chapter up but i have all the chapters until ch 7 outlined already, so that will make updates come a little quicker :))


	4. Camp Skaia 2.0

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> important news update

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> read the whole thing

alright yeah as you probably guessed this fic has been discontinued. however before you get all sad and close this tab DONT because i have news. if you follow me over on my tumblr then you already know that camp skaia is getting a reboot! that is where the "2.0" comes in because camp skaia is no longer going to be a fic at all! camp skaia is being completely rewritten and now if the form of a comic! the comic has been officially started! and you can read it [here](https://tapastic.com/series/Camp-Skaia) and its still a johndave au dont worry B)

for art and updates about the comic you can follow me on [tumblr](http://thespacemaid.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/thespacemaid) for sneak peaks

[here](http://thespacemaid.tumblr.com/tagged/campskaia) is the campskaia tag for all you need to get caught up on the new story!


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